The lake will re-seed itself, but there are too many oyster boats to do that.
Re-seeding will only work if you lease areas, or allow oystering in one section at a time.
Big Lake is a public oystering lake. When it opens, most of the oyster fishermen will try to make as much money as fast as they can. Not worrying about what will be left for the next season.
If it is re-seeded, then it will have to be closed for a few years to let them grow.
And again I will say, reseeding from another area could bring in unwanted problems like hook mussels and other diseases that we may not have now.
And what other area would want to send their seed oysters over here? Do we want the East side of the state to be able to take our oysters to reseed the their side of the state?
The commercial fishing lobby is just as big as the recreational fishing lobby. I can promise you they are looking at this and other forums all the time to see what their next fight will be. But we cannot look at what they are saying, they don't put it out for everyone to see.
The only answer is to make it publicly known, and that has already happened, KPLC TV and other news media have brought it up.
If you listen to the oyster fishermen, they are worried too. Especially the ones who only commercial fish for a living.
There needs to be a limited number of commercial oyster licenses on Big Lake, if they are going to keep dredging. Or close the East Side for the next 3 years to let the oysters grow.
Everyone has good ideas, but to make them reality is going to be a lot tougher than you think.
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